Skin Care Buyers Very Engaged Online, Via Mobile, Says New Report

Posted: July 17, 2013

With beauty brands seeking to reach a target audience of regular skin care and sunscreen lotion buyers, the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) has released research that shows that this group of consumers is much more inclined to engage in online and mobile activities than the average adult, and they are also more prone to regularly view digital video programming. In addition, they are much more influenced in their beauty purchases by Internet ads than the average consumer (29% vs. 15%).

Detailed findings are compiled in The IAB Summer Skincare Digital Report, based on data from Prosper Insights, which demonstrates digital’s influence on the lives and purchase behaviors of skincare and suntan lotion enthusiasts:

Purchases in general are regularly researched (61% vs. 42%) and made online (50% vs. 29%) by frequent skin care buyers, compared to the general population.

When it comes to overall purchase decisions, digital ads inspire one in three skin care devotees to search, and they are much more influenced by sponsored search results than the average adult (36% vs. 10%).

Shopping is their top online activity, and they outpace the general population when it comes to this pastime (63% vs. 51%).

Skinc are purchasers are more likely than the general population to surf the Internet (94% vs. 86%), use web radio (55% vs. 25%) and participate in social media (75% vs. 53%).

Regular sunscreen lotion buyers are more apt to visit the Facebook page of a retailer to find special offers versus the general population (52% vs. 34%).

“The beauty of the report’s findings is that it spotlights a tremendous opportunity for marketers to use interactive advertising in new and exciting ways to reach this audience,” said Sherrill Mane, senior vice president, research, analytics and easurement, IAB. “Frequent purchasers of skin care and sun care products are heavily immersed in digital media across devices indicating a crucial need for advertisers to make sure digital is a major part of their media mix.”

The report also showed that frequent skin care buyers leverage mobile screens more as well:

Skin care enthusiasts are heavier mobile app users than the typical population, with 76% purchasing apps versus 57% of the general population, and entertainment apps being the most popular (72% among frequent skin care buyers vs. 56% for average adults).

One in four (25%) researches beauty products on a mobile connected device, while merely 8% do so within the general population.

Similarly, one in five (20%) have purchased beauty products on their mobile device, in sharp contrast to only 6% among average adults.

“Mobile devices have increasingly become a vital component to our lives, and certainly this research points to it having a deeper impact on those that frequent the skin care aisle and beauty specialty stores,” said Pam Goodfellow, consumer insights director, Prosper Insights. “Health and beauty brands would be wise to include mobile in their advertising strategy, if they want to influence this highly-targeted and extremely valuable consumer.”

The report found skin care aficionados are similarly zealous about digital video. They are more likely to subscribe to premium video sites. Half (49%) regularly watch digital video on their desktop or laptop computer, while more than a third (37%) regularly watch digital video on their smartphones or tablets. In comparison, just 22% of the general population regularly screens digital video on online platforms and merely 12% do so on mobile devices.

The IAB Summer Skincare Digital Report includes intelligence from the Media Behaviors & Influence Study, which polls some 19,000 respondents once a year, The report is the second in an ongoing series of consumer research studies that IAB is producing in conjunction with Prosper Insights.